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A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga554
see that the West and East agree upon this main point, however different
may be their explanations of the fact, or their use of the power gained by
the cultivation of Attention.
As we said in our last lesson, the word Attention is derived from two
Latin words “ad tendere,” meaning “to stretch toward,” which is really what
Attention is. The “I” wills that the mind be focused on some particular
object or thing, and the mind obeys and “stretches toward” that object or
thing, focusing its entire energy upon it, observing every detail, dissecting,
analyzing, consciously and sub-consciously, drawing to itself every possible
bit of information regarding it, both from within and from without. We
cannot lay too much stress upon the acquirement of this great faculty, or
rather, the development of it, for it is necessary for the intelligent study of
Raja Yoga.
In order to bring out the importance of the subject, suppose we start in
by actually giving our Attention to the subject of Attention, and see how
much more there is in it than we had thought. We shall be well repaid for
the amount of time and trouble expended upon it.
Attention has been defined as a focusing of consciousness, or, if one
prefers the form of expression, as “detention in consciousness.” In the first
case, we may liken it to the action of the sun-glass through which the sun’s
rays are concentrated upon an object, the result being that the heat is
gathered together at a small given point, the intensity of the same being
raised many degrees until the heat is sufficient to burn a piece of wood, or
evaporate water. If the rays were not focused, the same rays and heat would
have been scattered over a large surface, and the effect and power lessened.
And so it is with the mind. If it is allowed to scatter itself over the entire field
of a subject, it will exert but little power and the results will be weak. But if it
is passed through the sun-glass of attention, and focused first over one part,
and then over another, and so on, the matter may be mastered in detail, and
a result accomplished that will seem little less than marvelous to those who
do not know the secret.